Tobacco dispenser



F. W. GONZALEZ TOBACCO DISPENSER Feb. 28, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed A ril 20, 1965 INVENTOR.

FRANK W. GONZALEZ 4 Ma ATTORNEY 'BY 1% wm 4 7 1967 I F.- w. GONZALEZ 4 3,306,498

TOBACCO DISPENSER Filed April 26, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet '2 INVENTOR.

FRANK W. GONZALEZ BY M %TORNEY%. 5%

Feb. 28, 1967 w, GONZALEZ 3,306,498

TOBACCO DISPENSER Filed April 2U, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet '5 INVENTOR.

FRANK W. GONZALEZ AT TO R NEY United States Patent 3,306,498 TOBACCO DISPENSER Frank W. Gonzalez, 406 Paunack Place, Madison, Wis. 53711 Filed Apr. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 449,553 1 Claim. (Cl. 222185) This invention rel-ates to tobacco dispensers and more particularly to a dispenser for filling a pipe held thereunder with tobacco.

An object of my invention is to provide a novel tobacco dispenser which will keep the tobacco contained therein in a fresh and moist condition.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel tobacco dispenser from which tobacco can be quickly and easily dispensed into the bowl of a pipe.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel tobacco dispenser having an externally manipulatable plunger which will keep the discharge throat of the dispenser from clogging with tobacco.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a tobacco dispenser in which the level of the tobacco will always be apparent and in which the action of the plunger can be observed during operation of the dispenser to facilitate its use.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a relatively inexpensive dispenser for pipe tobacco which is simple in construction, pleasing in appearance and dependable in operation.

A further object is to provide a dispenser for pipe tobacco which is otherwise particularly adapted for its intended use.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the principles of my invention has been selected for exemplification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my dispenser.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of my dispenser with a filling rod inserted therein to assist in the filling of the dispenser.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a portion of my dispenser during filling.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, my dispenser is shown generally at in FIG. 1 and comprises a stand 11, a container 12, a plunger 13 and a stopper 14.

As best seen in FIG. 1, stand 11 has three upright legs 15, an upper support member 16 and a lower support member 17. The lower support member 17 is fixedly attached to legs by any suitable means, such as, for example, gluing. As best seen in FIG. 2, lower support member 17 and upper support member 16 have centrally located holes 18 and 19, respectively. 'Each of the three legs 15 has an upwardly facing shoulder 15a and an upwardly protruding peg portion 15b having a smaller diameter than the main portion of the legs. The peg portions 15b extend upwardly through holes 20 in upper support member 16 so that the upper support member 16 rests on shoulders 15a of the legs 15. Preferably, the pegs 15b fit loosely in holes 20 so upper support member 16 may be lifted oil? the legs for removing container 12 from the stand 11, if desired, for filling and cleaning.

Container 12 as shown is made of clear transparent material so that the level of the tobacco is always appa- 3,306,498 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 "ice rent and so that the action of the plunger may be readily observed during the filling of a pipe. It is under-stood that container 12 may be made of various shape-retaining materials such as glass, plastic, or the like. The glass or plastic may be clear or it may be stained or colored to enhance the appearance of the dispenser.

While the upper support member 16 might generally be described as having the configuration of a convex triangle, and lower support member 17 as having the configuration of a concave triangle, it is, of course, understood that these members are not limited to such configur-ations.

The tobacco holding container 12 generally has an upstanding neck 21 and an enlarged body portion 22 which tapers downwardly into a discharge throat 23. The neck 21 is substantially cylindrical and has an outside diameter just slightly less than the diameter of hole 19 in which it is received. The upper member 16, thus, laterally supports the top of the tobacco container 12.

The discharge throat 23 is also substantially cylindrical and has an outside diameter just slightly less than the diameter of hole 18 in lower support member 17 through which it extends. The tapered wall of body portion 22 rests on the upper edge of the hole 18 and container 12 is, thus, supported by the lower support member 17.

Preferably, tobacco container 12 is supported so that the bottom end of discharge throat 23 is well above the supporting surface on which the stand 11 rests to facilitate the easy filling of a pipe with tobacco from the discharge throat 23.

Dispenser 10 is provided with a plunger, generally designated by the reference number 13. As best seen in FIG. 2, plunger 13 has a cap portion 24 having a flange portion 25 with a downwardly facing shoulder 26. Cap portion 24 also has a plug portion 27 which is adapted to be inserted into the neck 21 of container 12. The shoulder 26 is adapted to rest on the top edge of neck 21 when the plunger 13 is in its container closing position, as shown in FIG. 2. An airtight seal is provided be tween the cap portion of plunger 13 and neck 21 by an 'O-ring 28 which is located in annular groove 27a in plug portion 27.

Plunger 13 has a stem portion 30 which depends from cap portion 24. The stem portion 30 may be fixedly secured in the cap portion by gluing or other suitable means. The cap portion 24 and stem portion 30 could be formed from a single piece of material.

The lower end of stem portion 30 of plunger 13 extends downwardly into the discharge throat 23, as shown in FIG. 2, and has a conically shaped plunger head 31. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and .3, plunger head 31 has a diameter such that it just clears the inside of discharge throat 23 and is freely slidable therein.

Stem 30 has a neck portion 32 immediately adjacent plunger head 31 which has a diameter substantially smaller than that of plunger head 31. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, neck portion 32 provides an annular groove above the plunger head 31. The upper end of the neck portion 32 is located in the tapering wall portion of enlarged body portion 22, that is, the annular groove extends above the cylindrical discharge throat 23 into body portion 22. The annular groove provided by neck portion 32 allows tobacco to encircle neck portion 32 in the upper portion of discharge throat 23 and to rest on the upwardly facing horizontal shoulder 31a provided by the conically shaped plunger head 31.

The length of stem 30 is such that the plunger head 31 will still be in tobacco sealing position within the discharge throat 23 when the plunger 13 has been withdrawn to such a position that O-ring 28 is at the top edge of neck 21. This will prevent tobacco from being discharged from throat 23 while the plunger is being withdrawn to operable position.

A removable stopper 14 having an O-ring 33 is provided for forming an airtight seal With the discharge throat 23 for preventing moisture from escaping from the tobacco container 12.

The preferred filling operation is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. Referring first to FIG. 4, a filling rod 34 is provided to assist in the filling of the container 12 with tobacco. The rod 34 has a diameter which is substantially the same as that of plunger head 31, that is, its diameter is just slightly less than the inside diameter of discharge throat 23 so that the rod 34 will be freely slidable in throat 23 but will prevent tobacco from entering the throat. The filling rod 34 is, preferably, several inches longer than container 12 and has a depression 34a in its top end for receiving at least a portion of plunger head 31 as shown in FIG. 5. To fill container 12, rod 34 is first inserted into the container and held in the position shown in FIG. 4. The pipe tobacco is then poured into container 12 through neck 21. Plunger 13 is then held on top of the filling rod 34 so that plunger head 31 is engaged in depression 34a. As shown in FIG. 5, the plunger is then lowered into the container until it is in its sealing position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The filling rod 34 is pushed out of the bottom of throat 23 as plunger 13 is lowered. Stopper 14 may then be inserted into the bottom of throat 23 to provide an airtight seal at the bottom of the container.

To fill the bowl of a pipe with tobacco from dispenser 10, the stopper 14 is first removed. The bowl of the pipe to be filled is then placed directly under the discharge throat 23. By grasping cap portion 24, the plunger 13 may be lifted upwardly until O-ring 28 is disengaged from neck 21. At this point, the plunger head 31 will still be in tobacco sealing relation with the top portion of discharge throat 23 so that no tobacco will be discharged from the container. The plunger 13 may then be reciprocated up and down in rapid short strokes until the desired amount of tobacco has been dispensed from the container into the bowl of the pipe.

It is apparent that, in its closed condition as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container of my tobacco dispenser completely seals the tobacco from the surrounding atmosphere and thus, prevents the tobacco from drying out.

It is also apparent that by manipulating the plunger, a metered amount of tobacco may be dispensed from the container. Further, the action of the plunger head will keep the discharge throat from clogging with tobacco and if the tobacco tends to clump, the plunger can be used to break up the tobacco and push it out the discharge throat.

It is further apparent that in the preferred form shown, the level of tobacco in the transparent container will always be apparent and the action of the plunger head can be observed during operation of the plunger which greatly enhances its use.

It is understood that my invention is not confined to the particular construction, configuration of parts, or materials herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as may come within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

A tobacco dispenser comprising:

(a) a stand having at least three upstanding legs and an upper and a lower support member, each of said support members having a centrally disposed aperture therethrough,

(b) a shape-retaining container for holding pipe tobacco, said container having an upstanding neck and an enlarged body portion which tapers downwardly into a discharge throat, said upstanding neck being received in the aperture through said upper support member and said discharge throat being received in the aperture through said lower support member, whereby said container is supported by said stand,

(0) said upper support member being liftable off said legs to facilitate removal of said container from said stand,

(d) an externally manipulable plunger extending downwardly through said neck and protruding into said throat for preventing tobacco from passing from said body portion outwardly through said discharge throat, said plunger being adapted to form a substantially airtight seal with said neck, and

(e) removable means closing the bottom of said discharge throat in airtight relation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,262,757 4/1918 Deeter 222-387 X 1,313,174 8/1919 Eisenhardt 222365 1,945,849 2/ 1934 Ferrandino 222 2,665,824 1/1954 Anderson 248154 X 2,987,224 6/ 1961 Chapman 222365 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner, 

